Egyptian
investigative judges investigating the foreign funding of NGOs, enter a
press conference at the Justice Ministry in Cairo on Feb. 8, 2012

Egypt’s ruling military council has rejected US threats to end aid payments to the country.

US-Egypt tensions have risen considerably following the
decision to ban 43 pro-democracy staffers- including 19 Americans- from
travel and refer them to a Cairo court on charges of violating laws
regulating the operation of non-governmental organizations (NGOs).

“A phone call from the American
embassy in Cairo used to be the sure thing to straighten up such a
wretched mess. But this time it wasn’t enough.”

Among those hit by travel bans is a son of U.S. Transportation
Secretary Ray LaHood, as well as other foreign staffers of the
International Republican Institute and National Democratic Institute.

A statement released on the council’s official Facebook page stressed
that Egypt is a country with a rich heritage that cannot be pressured
or blackmailed into doing someone else’s bidding.

The council also added that Egypt’s international relations with the
US and other countries were governed by the common interests of both
parties, and that “Egypt does not bow to the domination of anyone.”

… Now, such a statement, coming out from a military that has been
indulging in an obscenely large American aid (US$1.3 billion annually)
for the past 30 years, is quite perplexing and calls for some
contemplation.

To begin with, and to put the reader into
perspective, the whole “crackdown on foreign NGOs Cairo offices” with
the decision to prosecute 43 staffers is but a cheap political stunt we
Egyptians have seen it so many times before but with slight variations.

The catch goes like this. … In dealing with any foreign investment,
be it in the field of industry, publishing, tourism, etc, Egyptian
authorities would grant the applicant for investment, or in our case,
the NGOs, a temporary permit to operate in the country until all the
required paper work is completed, but of course the paper work is never
completed and the final authorization is never granted for security
reasons.

If things went smoothly and convenient for the authorities, nobody
would bring up this final authorization issue, if not, the targeted
venture/business would be suspended and its workers/staff legally
convicted of breaking the regulation rules and also of illegal foreign
funding.

It’s a dirty old trick, but works fine and even looks good before any court of law.

A phone call from the American embassy in Cairo used to be the sure
thing to straighten up such a wretched mess. But this time it wasn’t
enough.

The American embassy aggressively intervened; Leon
Panetta, the US defense secretary, telephoned Egypt’s military ruler,
Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi, and asked him to lift the travel ban on
the American citizens, even a delegation from the supreme council of
armed forces (SCAF) flew to Washington for negotiations over the issue.

The awfully weird thing is that SCAF grew more hostile and adamant about legally pursuing this NGOs case after the generals had cut short the visit to the U.S and returned to Cairo.

Something unusual happened back there in the Pentagon behind closed
doors. “Egypt military generals play risky game with U.S” The
associated press reported … Watch the video here.

Were the Egyptian generals so naïve and stupid as to jeopardize 30
years of US alliance and support over this small NGOs’ issue … or is
this a whole new deal aimed at helping the military to censor freedom of
expression and silence the growing tide of dissent in Egypt?

But on the other hand, SCAF may also fear it has
much more than US aid to lose if it fully embraces a democratic
transition that could bring civilian oversight of its considerable
financial assets and curb its long-standing domination of power.

In the meantime, Egypt’s ruling generals have deployed additional
soldiers and tanks across the country in preparation for the anniversary
of former president Hosni Mubarak’s ouster from power on 11 February.

The move is seen as a warning to activists planning to mark the day
with a national strike and civil disobedience campaign to demand a
swifter transition to civilian rule.

Prime Minister Kamal Al-Ganzouri told a press conference that calls
for civil disobedience were part of a plan to “overthrow the state” and
all Egyptians should unite to get through the crises and dangers the
country was facing.

More military tanks are deployed in Egyptian major cities as the country braces for general strike.